Yankees should be prepared to lose Cody Bellinger after latest free agency updates

Is it possible Cody Bellinger re-signs with the New York Yankees? Absolutely. He enjoyed his experience in the Bronx and was a tremendous fit on a playoff contender. But, of course, this is a business ... which is why Yankees fans should probably expect him to leave.

Why? Because, in classic Brian Cashman fashion, the team is standing firm on what is internally believed to be a "fair offer". But "fair" doesn't get the job done in this day and age, whether you like it or not.

According to reports, the Yankees have a five-year offer worth $150-$160 million on the table with opt outs. They've remained engaged with Bellinger but not much has changed. At this rate, if that was the best offer he was getting and he preferred to be with the Yankees, it would've been a done deal.

Instead, it's been speculated Bellinger and his agent Scott Boras want a deal that spans seven years or a much higher AAV than the ~$30 million the Yankees have on the table. After Kyle Tucker signed his market-altering (and frankly stupid) four-year, $240 million contract, everything went sideways.

Tucker is not worth that money. He is not worth more than Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Mookie Betts, Francisco Lindor, Fernando Tatis Jr., and so on. He has eclipsed 30 homers and 100 RBI in a single season twice. He's also dealt with serious injury issues the past two years. He was never the leading star player on a playoff roster.

But the Dodgers paid what the Dodgers paid and screwed everything up, so if you're an optimistic Yankees fan we urge you to prepare yourself for the worst — expect Belli to sign with the Mets on a short-term, super high AAV deal.

Yankees Rumors: Cody Bellinger seems like he's a goner in free agency

There have been no reports of Bellinger receiving offers from other teams. The Yankees apparently had the highest and best offer on the table for weeks now, but Boras was waiting out Tucker's situation to find a lane to benefit even further.

MLB insider Jim Bowden now claims Belli has multiple offers from multiple teams, and we can only assume the other team is the Mets. The Blue Jays are reportedly unlikely to get involved in the bidding. We suppose the Phillies, Giants and Angels could be lurking, but it doesn't feel like those three would get aggressive enough to go seven years or somewhere around $40 million AAV.

Again, if Bellinger wanted to be a Yankee, this would be a done deal. The Yankees didn't go above and beyond with their offer, but they certainly made one competitive with what the market was dictating, and there's no reason for them to bid against themselves. We do wonder how they keep finding themselves in these situations, though.

If the waiting game hasn't stressed you out enough, look no further than Austin Wells commenting with a sad, crying face emoji on a recent Bellinger Instagram post. Why would he do that, especially this late in the offseason? What else could that possibly mean?

Could it all be a game to troll Mets fans in the end? Sure. But this whole ordeal has not moved in the Yankees' favor for months. It only stands to hurt them if more teams are getting involved now after the Tucker decision, which was always going to be a major factor in his decision.

Whenever this goes down, all we're saying is don't be surprised if Bellinger chooses another team for 2026 and beyond.